For our last Editor’s Theme Pick, Evan assigned the staff, “Laws That Should be Decriminalized OR Legal Actions That Should Be Made Criminal.” After all, the world that we live in is defined by the laws that we follow. Sara found some crazy California laws that should not exist and are downright confusing.

By Sara Habibipour

Have you ever heard of really absurd laws that are just so random they make you say, “Why?” I know I do all the time. I’m sure there’s oodles more, but here’s some of the weirdest, dumbest laws in the state of California that I’ve come across.

• In Carmel, California, it’s illegal to stand on the sidewalk and eat ice cream. 
• Also, in Carmel, women are required to have a permit to wear heels more than two inches in height. This law was authored to defend the city from lawsuits over accidents happening on the irregular pavement, although local police don’t cite any violations.
• In Los Angeles, it is illegal to wash your neighbor’s car without their permission. 

• In San Francisco and Long Beach, it is illegal to store anything other than automobiles in a garage. This law is very frequently broken!
• Between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m., it is illegal to walk a camel down Palm Canyon Drive in Palm Springs.
• In San Francisco, any person classified as “ugly” may not legally walk down any street.
• A frog that dies during a frog-jumping contest cannot be eaten and must be “destroyed” as soon as possible. 

• It is illegal for women to drive a vehicle in a robe.
• In Walnut, it is illegal to put a rock in your driveway.
• In Arcadia, peacocks have the right of way in an intersection. Not pedestrians . . . peacocks. 
• In Eureka, it is illegal for men with mustaches to kiss a woman.
• In Long Beach, it’s illegal to curse on a mini-golf course.
• In Blythe, it is illegal to wear cowboy boots unless you own two or more cows. 
• It is illegal for any Californian to ride their bicycle through a swimming pool. 
• In Oakland, it is illegal to rob a bird’s nest from a cemetery.
• If you’re going to rob a bank in California, don’t think about even using a water gun. It’s prohibited. 
• In Chico, bowling on the sidewalk is illegal. 

• In Dana Point, it’s illegal to poop with your bathroom window open. 
• In Fresno, you legally can’t annoy a lizard in the park.
• In Indian Wells, foretelling the future for donations is illegal.

• In San Diego, it’s illegal to shoot jackrabbits from the back of a streetcar.

Luckily, if you break these laws it’s not necessarily an arrestable offense. But, why bother having such minor laws? What purpose do they serve in society? Do they really help maintain civil order? If you can answer that, let us know in the comments. 

Decriminalize/Criminalize Editor: Evan Spry